1832 Half Eagle, 13 Stars, BD-1, High R.5MS63, Only Three Finer at PCGS

1832 $5 13 Stars MS63 PCGS. Breen-6495, BD-1, High R.5. The
1832 half eagle is known in only two die pairings, BD-1 and BD-2,
easily distinguished by the presence of either 13 or 12 obverse
stars, respectively. In addition, the 12 Stars BD-2 has a
curved-base 2, while the 13 Stars BD-1 has a straight-base 2. Both
are listed as separate Guide Book varieties. These two
obverse dies were each paired with but a single reverse die, which
on the 13 Stars is recorded with only a single die state. The
reverse of the 12 Stars variety shows a later state of the 13 Stars
reverse, with some of the letters weak and the eagle's claws more
open due to die lapping. Bass-Dannreuther notes that Miller's half
eagle reference erroneously lists four die pairings for the 1832,
including two with the 1830 Small D (BD-2) reverse. All 1832 pieces
known, however, including the present coin, show the Large D
reverse, with the letter large and the period distant.
The 1832 BD-2 12 Stars is much rarer, with a High R.7 rarity rating
according to Bass-Dannreuther. The Guide Book notes that
only five examples of BD-2 are known, while Bass-Dannreuther says
"five or six." This is certainly not to be interpreted, however,
that the BD-1 is common, for its High R.5 rating makes it "rare to
very rare" in adjectival terms--this in what is among the most
difficult U.S. coin series, gold or otherwise. Bass-Dannreuther
comments concerning the rarity of this variety:

"Bass owned a single example of this available variety--at least
available for this type. There are as many as 50 examples
surviving. This may seem high to some specialists, but quite a few
of these coins have been brought to market because of higher prices
in the past 25 years. This is still not a common coin, of course,
and all Fat Head Fives are popular and snapped up by savvy
collectors at auction and on the bourse floor. For some reason,
half eagles of the 1830s are often seen with extensive evidence of
handling, unlike most of the dates of the 1820s."

Harry Bass, of course, with his vast resources, could have owned a
dozen pieces of the BD-1 if he had so desired, given enough time
for searching, and there are many rarer varieties of which he owned
multiple examples. For the always-analytical John Dannreuther, that
last sentence in the quotation seems a bit of a curiosity, one that
is easily explained. It was only two years later, in 1834, that the
bullion content of the early gold coins exceeded their face value.
The old-tenor gold began to go by the thousands into melting
pots--usually by way of bullion dealers and other mercenaries who
snapped up the choicest pieces from circulation. A coin only two to
four years old (i.e., dated in the 1830s) found in such a bullion
shipment destined for melting would likely show handling marks, but
it is likely that the gold coins from the 1820s had already been
saved in strong collector hands, and thus were less likely to be
submitted as melt bullion.
At PCGS this piece is one of only three coins certified MS63, with
three finer (all MS64). Together with three pieces in MS62, this
makes a total of nine Mint State pieces at PCGS. NGC lists 12 Mint
State coins, ranging from MS61 through a single MS65 (5/08). The
present example has lovely, satinlike surfaces that are undisturbed
by any noticeable abrasions. Striking definition is complete on
each side, which is not always a given since these pieces were
struck with a screw press. The orange-gold centers show just the
slightest bit of golden-rose around the margins. An important
rarity for the 19th century gold specialist.From The Charleston Collection.(Registry
values: P6) (NGC ID# 25RG, PCGS# 8156)